The Conservatives have been accused of hypocrisy after criticising what it cost to send Welsh Government ministers to Euro 2016 games – when Tory Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns also racked up a bill of thousands.

£3,000 for Secretary of State's two visits

At the time the Welsh Conservatives criticised the spending, with economy spokesman Russell George, the Montgomeryshire AM, saying: “While the Welsh Government will argue that their attendance at major sporting events is money well spent one has to question what they actually achieve.

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“The excellence achieved by the Welsh football team in the Euros did more than any Labour politician ever could to bring Wales to the attention of the world.”

Welsh and UK Government ministers joined tens of thousands of Welsh fans in France (Image: MSM)

Now it can be revealed that taxpayers forked out more than £3,000 in total so that Mr Cairns, the Secretary of State for Wales in Theresa May’s government and MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, could attend Wales’ group games with Slovakia in Bordeaux and England in Lens.

Mr Cairns flew standard class to Bordeaux in a visit which cost £1,958.60 for him and an official. The trip to Wales v England cost £1,130, with the visit made by Eurostar train and which included a private visit to a Mametz Wood First World War memorial in northern France to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

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The spending has been revealed after a freedom of information request to the Wales Office by WalesOnline.

A Welsh Labour spokesman said: “It was completely hypocritical of the Welsh Conservatives to criticise Welsh Government ministers for travelling to France to support the fantastic achievement of our football team while their own UK ministers were doing the same thing.